


Hello?

by GanglyLimbs



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: cursing, just generally creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 00:31:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2408579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GanglyLimbs/pseuds/GanglyLimbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt for FuckYeahRTfanfic's Scarefest Challenge.<br/>Person A is getting weird phone calls with just breathing on the other end. He tells his coworkers about the calls and gets caller ID and together they try to track the number that’s been calling. Alternate: everyone’s phone begins to get the calls to and they’re all the same numbers.</p>
<p>Ray should never have picked up the phone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hello?

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't follow the prompt exactly but I think it came pretty close.   
> I'd love to know what everyone thinks.   
> Happy October~

Ray wasn’t sure when they started. One day he picked up his phone, expecting it to be Michael cussing him out for killing his character yet again or Gavin gossiping about the latest news he heard from the women whose hair he cut. Instead Ray heard nothing.

Nothing but breathing.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Hello?” Receiving no response, Ray had just shrugged and hung up, assuming someone had accidently called him and were too embarrassed to admit it.

Except the calls kept coming.

Around the fifth day, he’d stop assuming it was a wrong number and starting getting annoyed. “Listen, I don’t who you are but if you don’t stop, I’m calling the cops and having the number traced.” Ray wasn’t sure, but he thought he caught a muffled laugh. Scowling, he slammed down his phone.

Ray tried to ignore the caller, who he couldn’t help noticing only called at a specific time and wouldn’t admit that he started adjusting his schedule so he could avoid the damn thing, but after about ten more days of getting voicemails with nothing but someone breathing, he tried threating again.

“Seriously, you asshole. Stop. I don’t know if you’re a prankster or just a pervert, but this isn’t funny. Leave me alone.” Ray tried lowering his voice to sound more threating, like the way he saw Michael do once when Gavin and him started getting unwanted attention.

The breathing stop and Ray almost sighed in relief. Finally, he got through to them. Ray was about to end the call when he heard something else. Mumbling. Ray listen closer, convinced that they were trying to apologies. The mumbling grew louder and Ray frowned, mouth opening to ask them to speak up but was stopped when whatever they were saying finally became clear.

_“Ray. Ray. Ray.”_ Just his name over and over again, whispered into his ear. Shivers went down his spine and Ray slammed down the phone but still caught the beginning of the muffled laughter.

Ray spent the rest of the night trying to convince himself that he just imagined it all.

_~Line~_

Ray, Michael, and Gavin all worked at the same mall; Ray at the GameStop, Gavin as a hairdresser, and Michael as the janitor/electrician. It was a pretty convenient gig for the friends to hang out and have lunch together.

“Ray, you all right there?”

Ray looked up at Michael, who was looking back at him curiously. Gavin was busy stuffing down his burger, but Ray saw him glance over when Michael voiced his concern.

“Yeah, uh, yeah. Totally fine. Why’d you ask?”

“Because you haven’t once touched your food. Considering, you usually shovel that shit down like it was going out of style I’d say something must be up. So spill.”

Ray glanced down, staring almost in amazement at his untouched food. Shit, when did he even order this? Ray slumped back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Now, both Michael and Gavin were giving him worried looks and he couldn’t blame them. He wasn’t one to space out like that, but _fuck_ , that phone call had messed him up.

Ray briefly debated if he should tell them or not, but decided that Michael would probably drag it out of him anyways and to just skip the hassle.

“I’ve just been getting weird phone calls recently.”

Michael and Gavin exchanged looks. “How weird?”

“Like, really weird. Weird as in they don’t talk, just sit there and breathe.”

Gavin scrunched up his nose. “Sounds like you got a pervert, X-Ray.”

“That’s what I thought too, but…”

“But what?” Michael watched Ray hesitate for a bit before rolling his eyes. “Shit, just spit it out man. It can’t be that bad.”

Ray bit his lip. “Well, yesterday, I tried threating them. A-and it seemed to work. But then they started mumbling my name, over and over again.”

Michael and Gavin blinked at him.  “Well, that’s creepy.”

“I know right.” Ray groaned. “The worst thing is, I can’t remember if I ever gave them my name.”

“Shit, Ray…do you think you have a stalker.”

Ray shuddered. “I really hope not. Maybe if I try ignoring them again, they’ll go away?”

“Doubt it.” Gavin injected. “If they know your name and know you’re freaked out, then they probably won’t stop. You should get the police involved.”

Ray shook his head. “I tried threating them with the police. They just laughed. Plus, I don’t think they’ve done anything so far that would get the police to take me seriously. I don’t think being creepy is a crime.”

“It fucking should be.” Michael scowled, leaning back and folding his arms. He leveled Ray with a look. “You want me to try speaking to them. No offense Ray, but you’re as threating as a kitten.”

Ray mauled it over. It was kind of embarrassing to have Michael protect him from what was most likely a prank caller getting his jollies off scaring Ray. But last night really frightened him and he just wanted them to stop…

“Come on, X-Ray, it can be a Lad Night.” Gavin added, eyes pleading a bit. “We can play games, watch shite movies, and eat loads of pizza. Michael will do his yelling thing and get the prick to leave you alone and you go to bed happy and full.”

Well, who was he to say no to a Lad Night. “Ok, sounds good.”

Ray really hoped this worked.

_~Line~_

“Fucking hell, Gavin. You fucking suck.”

“But Michael-“

“Don’t you _Micoo_ me you piece of shit.” Michael threw down his controller as he was killed. Again. “Fucking A. I thought you were good at this game, Ray.”

Ray snapped his head back to the TV. “Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah, I usually am.”

Michael gave him a concerned look. “Dude, you ok?”

“Uh, yeah. It-it’s just that, it’s almost time that they usually call and I’m not so sure-“

Ray was cut off by the phone ringing.

Ray tensed and Gavin went over to give him a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Ray, it’s ok. We’re here.” Behind him, Michael gave a thumbs up and a reassuring smile.

Taking a deep breath, Ray answered the phone. “Hello?”

Ray looked over at Michael. “It’s them.”

Michael stomped over and grabbed the phone from Ray. “Listen here, you fucking piece of shit. You call here again and I’m tracking you down to kick your ass. You got it?”

“I’m seriously, asshole. Leave my friend alone.”

Breathing. And-was that-the fucker was laughing.

Michael growled, low in his throat. “Leave Ray alone or-“

Michael paused, scowling. “Speak up, fucker. I can’t hear a damn word-“ Michael cut off with a gasped.

_“Michael. Ray. Michael. Ray. Michael. Ray.”_

Michael slammed down the phone, breath growing faster. “Shit. Shit. Shit.”

“Michael? Michael, what’s wrong?” Ray cautiously made his way over to where Michael stood, pale and looking a second away from passing out. “Michael! Breathe. Breathe.”

“Fuck Ray. They knew my name.” Michael looked up and Ray could see the panic in his eyes. “How did they know my name? Did you tell them?”

Ray stopped, shocked. “No. God, no, Michael, I would never do that.”

“Then how the fuck did they know my name?” Michael yelled.

“How the fuck should I know!”

“Guys, let’s not fight.” Gavin cut in, physically putting himself between the two. Michael blinked, seeming surprised how close he had gotten to Ray. “Michael, you know that Ray would never purposefully put you in danger.”

Michael took a deep breath, feeling his anger draining. “Shit. Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry, Ray. Wasn’t really thinking clearly.”

Ray’s shoulders relaxed too. “It’s ok, man. You’re scared. Hell, I’m scared.” He ran a hand through his hand, letting out an irritated sigh. “What do we do?”

“I still say go to the police.”

Ray shook his head. “And tell them what, Vav? They still haven’t done anything that could be considered illegal besides scaring the doo doo out of us.”

Michael crossed his arms. “They somehow got our names. That has to be an invasion of privacy, right?”

“I feel like that won’t be enough.”

“Then what do you suggest we do? Just let the creep keep calling you?”

“Confront them.”

Both Michael and Ray turned towards Gavin, surprised at the uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. “What?”

“They’re obviously not going to stop and don’t think that our threats are serious. So we track them down and tell the prick to sod off.”

_~Line~_

Tracking down the number turned out to be simultaneously easier and harder than they thought. Easier because there was no shortage of ways to track down a number thanks to the internet. Harder because no matter what they tried, they kept coming up short.

Putting the number in a search box only showed an empty parking lot in a completely different state. Calling back lead them to a recording claiming that the number had been disconnected (which was impossible, they only called from this one number.

“Maybe it’s a fake recording.” Gavin offered.

“If it is, it seems like a lot of work for one prank.” Ray said and the three shared a look. )

They tried all the way until the next day and still had produced no results. They three quit, just plain fucking done.

“You should just change your number, Ray.” Michael said from where he had flopped down onto the couch.

“Normally, I would say that’s a lot of work, but fuck am I willing to do anything to get this over with.” Ray groaned. He looked at the clock, gulping at the time. “We’ve been cooped in here all day. I say we go out to dinner. Who’s in, say ‘Ay’.”

“Ay.” The other two echoed.

Dinner was the Chinese place a few blocks down. The trio usually saved it for special occasions as they called it the fanciest place they could afford. But tonight, they just needed to relax and recollect their thoughts. So they ate and ruthlessly ignored any thoughts that lead back to their predicament.

“-And it was clogged.”

Ray chocked on his food and Gavin almost spit out his drink. “No!”

Michael smirked. “Yeah. So I was like fuck it and decided to unclog it with my fist.”

Gavin started gagging. “Michael.”

“Micoo.” Michael mocked. “Not like it’s my fault you have such a shitty gag reflex.”

“But you didn’t have to tell us while we’re eating.” Ray pointed out.

Michael shrugged but before he could defend himself he was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone going off.

Ray frowned as he pulled his phone out. “Who would call this late?”

“Dude, I didn’t think you had any other friends beside us.” Michael teased.

“Shut up, dickhead. Probably just Geoff calling to give me my hours. He always puts it off and ends up rushing-“

“Ray?” Gavin asked, noticing how the lad had paled.

“It’s them.” Ray whispered.

“What?”

Ray threw his phone in Michael’s direction. “It’s them. It’s their number.”

Michael dropped the phone like it was on fire. “Fuck, fuck. How’d they find this number?”

“I don’t know. _I don’t know._ ” Ray was close to pulling out his hair.

“Quick, give me the phone.” Gavin said, reaching across the table to snag it.

“Gavin, what are you-“ Michael started, but Gavin waved him off.

Ray and Michael watched horrified as Gavin answered the call. “Hello, Gavin speaking.”

Nothing but the damn breathing.

“Hello? Gavin Free’s number. Are you looking for me, Gavin? No, ok then, call back if you are. Looking for me. Gavin Free.” Gavin quickly ended the call.

“Why did you do that?”

“I panicked. I just thought that I could make them think they had a wrong number and would leave Ray alone.”

Ray was slightly taken aback. “Shit, man, that was a nice thought, but I don’t, uh, think you were that convincing.”

Michael snorted. “You were as convincing as a Smurf trying to tell everyone he’s purple.” The other two gave him a look. “What?”

“What was that analogy?”

Michael shrugged. “It was the first thing that came to my mind.”

Ray and Gavin looked at each other and burst into giggles. They finished their meal and paid. Since they were so close to Ray’s apartment and it was so late, they decided to walk back and spend another night there.

It was a quite night, the sun starting to set. It lit the leaves on the trees, which had started to change color for fall. Gavin stared up at the sky, enjoying the rare silence, shoulders finally relaxing. It had been a stressful day, the call at dinner piling onto it. At least now, he didn’t have to think of phones and creepy callers. The walk was so relaxing, he felt his brain start to drift, thinking of nothing and just walking.

So when his phone rang, he thought nothing of it, didn’t even look to see who was calling, and answered it. “Hello?”

_“Hello, Gavin.”_

Gavin frowned. “Yes, who is this?”

_“Gavin. Gavin. Gavin. Gavin. Gavin.”_

Gavin stopped, everything clinking in place. He only needed to look at the other two for them to understand. The caller had gotten to Gavin now.

“H-How did you get this number?”

_“You know, I originally wasn’t looking for a Gavin Free. But now I’m am. I most certainly am.”_

“Who are you? What do you want?”

_“Oh, Gavin, you’ll see. Don’t you worry. Now, why don’t you hand the phone over to your friend Ray? I would like to speak to him.”_

Gavin glanced at Ray, who looked moments from passing out. Michael didn’t look any better. Suddenly feeling anger boil in the pit of his stomach, Gavin straightened his back. “No.”

_“No?”_

“No. You will not speak to Ray and you will never speak to Ray again. Or Michael. Or me.”

Laughter. _“Oh, how adorable. But I think I will. I think I will. Tell you what. I can see we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot and, dear Gavin, I only want us to be friends.”_

“F-Friends?” Gavin sputtered, wondering if this guy had lost his damn mind.

_“Yes! Friends. I mean if we’re going to be spending time together-“_

“Like hell we are.” Gavin protested. “You must be bloody mental if you think that we want to spend any time with you.”

_“Oh, Gavin, is that any way to talk to your friend? No matter, you just don’t know me very well. Yet.”_ Gavin’s stomach twisted at how ominous that sounded. _“Anyway, as I was saying, we need to be on better turns. So, tell me, what would it take to get you to like me?”_

“How about you stop calling us for one.”

_“Now, Gavin, I’m disappointed. How are we supposed to get on better turns if I can’t talk to you?”_ The voice sounded sad, yet Gavin could hear the mocking tint to it. He clenched his hands into fist and opened his mouth to let the man have it when the voice began talking again. _“On the other hand, I’ll be seeing you soon, so I suppose it’s not an impossible request.”_

Gavin almost stopped breathing. “What do you mean you’ll be seeing me soon?” That got the other’s attention, their heads whipping around to stare in terror at Gavin’s words.

The voice just laughed. _“Oh, Gavin. Well, I’m afraid I must be going. Tell Michael and Ray bye for me will you?”_

“Wait!” Gavin cried desperately. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

The voice hummed.  _“Why, all I’m doing is making friends. We will be the best of friends.”_ Gavin’s hand was shaking and he felt like he was going to throw up. _“As for my name, well since I know yours, it only seems fair that I return the favor. I go by Ryan. Bye Gavin. It won’t be long now.”_

“What the fuck does that mean?” Gavin practically screeched. Too late, Ryan had ended the call. Gavin stared at the End Call screen, a numb sort of feeling starting to go through him.

“W-what did they say?”

“He said his name was Ryan. And he wanted to be our friend.” Gavin looked at them, eyes dilated in fear. “He said he was coming for us.”

“What the fuck. That’s a threat, right. He threatened us.” Michael was pulling at his hair, the slight pain the only thing holding back the panic.

“Fuck. Fuck it, we’re defiantly going to the police tomorrow.” Ray said, legs trembling and weak. He thinks he might pass out soon. “He threatened us. That’s reason enough.”

Gavin had gone back to staring at his phone and Ray doesn’t think Michael had heard him, still tugging at his hair. A jolt went through him when he realized that he had to be the calm one this time. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself together long enough to grab both Michael’s and Gavin’s hands and tug them back to his apartment.

They were going to cuddle and comfort each other and then tomorrow they were going to the police and get this all figured out. Tomorrow, this will end.

_~Line~_

Ray wasn’t sure what woke him up; the ringing of the phone or the cool bed.

Groggily, he wiped the sleep from his eyes, squinting around the room. Gavin and Michael were gone. Frowning, Ray blindly reached for his glasses before raising to leave the room.

Ignoring the phone for now, and God did he wish it would stop ringing he was tired of the ringing, he searched the rest of his apartment. It wasn’t large so it didn’t take that long. They weren’t anywhere to be found. Ray was getting a bad feeling, sending shivers down his spine and making the ring of the phone louder. Michael and Gavin were gone, he was alone, and the _phone was still ringing_.

In a fit of madness, Ray ran to the phone and screamed into it. “What? What the fuck do you want?”

Giggling. _“Oh, Ray. Is that anyway to talk to your friend.”_

Shit, it was Ryan. Ray looked at the clock in disbelief. He hadn’t been expecting it, not really. It wasn’t time. Fuck, where were Michael and Gavin? “I’m not your friend.”

_“Oh Ray. Don’t say that. You might hurt my feelings.”_

“Look, you creepy fuck. I don’t have the time or patience to deal with you. Good night.”

_“Wondering where Michael and Gavin are?”_

Everything stopped. Time. Space. Ray’s breathing. He was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating too. “What does that mean?” Ray couldn’t recognize his voice. It was too clipped, too distant, too monotone.

_“I’m sure you know exactly what that means, dear Ray.”_

“Ryan, where’s Gavin and Michael.”

Ryan giggled again. Ray hated it. A giggle like that didn’t belong to someone with that deep of a voice. _“I just made them my friends. I told Gavin I was coming for you.”_

Yeah, Ray was seriously going to pass out this time. He couldn’t handle this.

_“And you know what Ray?”_

Ray swallowed. “What?”

A hand gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll be my friend too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Criticisms welcomed.


End file.
